| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | AN ACT concerning veterans.
| ||||||
| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| ||||||
| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
| ||||||
| 4 | Section 1. The Department of Veterans Affairs Act is | ||||||
| 5 | amended by adding Section 31 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (20 ILCS 2805/31 new) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 31. Women Veterans Task Force. | ||||||
| 8 | (a) Findings and purpose. Far too often the sacrifices of | ||||||
| 9 | women veterans are overlooked. This frequently leads to women | ||||||
| 10 | veterans being left out of veterans' organizations. In | ||||||
| 11 | addition, most veterans services are targeted to men. The | ||||||
| 12 | purpose of this Section is to establish a task force to examine | ||||||
| 13 | the needs of women veterans with respect to issues including, | ||||||
| 14 | but not limited to, compensation, rehabilitation, outreach, | ||||||
| 15 | breast and cervical cancer screenings, health care, and issues | ||||||
| 16 | facing women veterans in the community, and to offer solutions | ||||||
| 17 | on how best to alleviate these needs. | ||||||
| 18 | (b) Composition of Task Force. The Department of Veterans' | ||||||
| 19 | Affairs shall provide administrative support to the Task Force. | ||||||
| 20 | The Task Force shall be comprised of women veterans appointed | ||||||
| 21 | as follows: | ||||||
| 22 | (1) Five members appointed by the Governor. | ||||||
| 23 | (2) One member appointed by the Speaker of the House of | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | Representatives. | ||||||
| 2 | (3) One member appointed by the Minority Leader of the | ||||||
| 3 | House of Representatives. | ||||||
| 4 | (4) One member appointed by the President of the | ||||||
| 5 | Senate. | ||||||
| 6 | (5) One member appointed by the Minority Leader of the | ||||||
| 7 | Senate. | ||||||
| 8 | (c) Vacancies. Vacancies in the Task Force shall be filled | ||||||
| 9 | by the initial appointing authority. | ||||||
| 10 | (d) Compensation. Members of the Task Force shall serve | ||||||
| 11 | without compensation, but may be reimbursed for necessary | ||||||
| 12 | expenses incurred in performing duties associated with the Task | ||||||
| 13 | Force. | ||||||
| 14 | (e) Duties. The Task Force shall examine the needs of women | ||||||
| 15 | veterans with respect to issues including, but not limited to, | ||||||
| 16 | compensation, rehabilitation, outreach, breast and cervical | ||||||
| 17 | cancer screenings, health care, and issues facing women | ||||||
| 18 | veterans in the community, and offer solutions on how best to | ||||||
| 19 | meet these needs. | ||||||
| 20 | (f) Reporting. By July 1, 2012, the Task Force shall | ||||||
| 21 | present a report of its findings to the Governor, the Director | ||||||
| 22 | of Veterans' Affairs, and the Secretary of the United States | ||||||
| 23 | Department of Veterans Affairs. | ||||||
| 24 | (g) Repeal. This Section is repealed on July 1, 2012. | ||||||
| 25 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 26 | becoming law.
| ||||||